The Stars in their Eyes
by DrowPrincess
Summary: A project for one of my classes that I thought would be fun to submit. Elenna is the younger sister of Aragorn and she goes along with the fellowship to save Middle-Earth. She falls in love on the way, but not in the way you would expect. un-beta'd and not finished. T for mature themes
1. Chapter 1

_Meetings_

All was quiet on the ford near Rivendell. It had been more than a week since Frodo had crossed into the land with Lady Arwen and the land felt apprehensive. Suddenly the tense silence was broken by a harsh piercing scream sending even the most stalwart of predators scurrying into the shadows, hoping that the creature would simply pass them by. The frantic pounding of hooves followed the scream and a woman desperately trying to keep a large man from falling off her horse nearly flew out of the trees.

"Noro lim, Tavi, noro lim!" She screamed as one shadow reached a gauntleted hand towards her. Her horse, Tavi, had one last spurt of energy in him and managed to pull away just long enough to cross the ford into the realm of Imladaris. The shadows reigned in their mounts sharply with a hiss, watching as the women reined in and turned. The three shadows let out a frustrated scream. She watched them grimly for a moment before smiling and racing off once again.

"By the blood of my people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy! Let us use it against him!" Boromir said a look of triumph in his eyes as though he could already see victory.

"You cannot wield it! None of us can." Aragorn said looking at him in disbelief.

"The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master." A woman declared in a firm voice as she strode into the council room. She stood tall and proud, nearly as tall as Aragorn, who had stood once she had made her appearance. Her face was grim and drawn as she made her way towards Elrond who looked relived as she bowed.

"I apologize, my Lord Elrond, for my tardiness. I was delayed." She said before turning back to Boromir. "As for our lands being kept safe…Here is what your blood has paid for…"

She untied her cloak letting it fall to her feet. Deep gashes, glistening sickly in its partial healing, were revealed through holes in her dark shirt reaching across her shoulders and throat. She slowly turned, showing the ragged edges of wound reaching around and down her back. A collective gasp went around the circle. Elrond made to stand but sat back as her eyes came to his.

"My men and I have been chased by these ring wraiths from the Sarn Ford to Dol Gudar and back. I have lost a few of my friends and one now lies wounded not far from this room. Only by the goodwill of Lord Elrond will he live." She spat out to Boromir. "And who allowed them to ride from Minas Morgul? Who let orcs infest the mountains and left us to our own devices?" No one said a word as she looked at each in turn before turning back to Boromir. "Our lands are just as threatened as yours, our blood just as well spent. There are few safe havens left in the world. Those that remain are carefully defended."

"And what would rangers know of this matter? And as for that, who are you to barge in here on this council meeting?" Boromir said derision in his voice as the woman lifted her chin and took a deep breath.

"These are no mere rangers. Their names are Aragorn and Elenna, children of Arathorn and Gilraen; you owe them your allegiance." Legolas declared standing up to confront him. Elenna looked at the elf startled. Boromir looked from one to the other in shock.

"They are Isildur's heirs?" he said in surprise.

"And heirs to the throne of Gondor."

Frodo wasn't the only one who looked shocked as Aragorn told Legolas to sit down. Boromir looked at them both scornfully before moving to sit again.

"Gondor has no King." He said looking at Aragorn before flicking his eyes to Elenna. "Gondor needs no Queen."

"Aragorn and Elenna are both right. We cannot use it." Gandalf said continuing the meeting as Elrond offered his seat to Elenna. The council eventually erupted into chaos with arguing on all sides. The Aragorn tried to reason with a few people while Elenna and Boromir began a heated argument. Legolas and Gimli nearly started a war of their own right in the council chambers.

"I will take it! I will take it!" Frodo suddenly said loudly. The whole council stopped and looked at the small hobbit.

"I will take the ring to Mordor…though…I do not know the way."

Gandalf looked pained as he turned to offer his guidance. Aragorn moved to offer his help, and then Legolas, a dwarf named Gimli, and finally even Boromir. A hobbit, no three hobbits suddenly ran out of the shadows and firmly planted themselves with the group. Declaring that they would go with Frodo no matter what happened.

"Nine Companions…" Elrond began.

"Ten." Elén said firmly moving to take her place with the company. Boromir huffed in frustration as she smiled coolly, lifting a challenging look to any who try to tell her she couldn't go. Elrond looked at her with sadness in his eyes as he inclined his head in acceptance.

"Ten companions… So be it! You shall be known as the Fellowship of the Ring." He said proudly.

"Great! Where are we going?" asked the smallest hobbit. Elenna laughed.

Later that night Elenna was leaving her friends chamber after making sure he was going to live through his terrible injuries when she noticed Legolas walking through the halls. She was considering whether or not to call out to him when she sensed a presence behind her. She whipped around to see Boromir leaning against the wall.

"Well met again, my lady." He said with a smile as he looked her up and down. She had abandoned her travel worn clothes for simple pants and a shirt made of a dark material, her hair unbound and rippling down her back in a long dark mass.

"If it wasn't for your eyes and fair skin you would blend in with the shadows." Boromir said after a moment. When she made no reply he straightened up to move to her side.

"I had heard of you in passing, many of my people believe you to be a legend, but I have to admit…the tales of your beauty do you no just-…"

Elenna grabbed the hand he had raised to brush her hair in a firm grip. He looked shocked at her strength as she stared at him with cold eyes.

"Do not touch me." She said with enough frost in her words to cover the ground.

"I meant no disrespect." He said carefully trying to remove her grip on his arm.

"Whether you meant it or not is irrelevant. Your presence offends me as you offended me in council today." She said evenly.

"Is there a problem?" Legolas asked coming up to them. Boromir's eyes hardened as she threw his arm away from her.

"No…no problem." He said before hurrying away. Elenna turned to look at the tall elf with a sigh.

"Mae govannen, Lady Elenna." He said with a small bow. (Well met, Lady Elenna)

"Mae govannen…I'm sorry I don't remember your name." She said looking at him questioningly.

"I am Legolas of the Woodland Realm." He replied as they began walking.

"Of Mirkwood? I have heard stories of that forest, none to be taken lightly."

"Yes, my father sent me here to hear what was going on. The rumblings from the world have grown too loud even for him to ignore."

"Your father?"

"Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm."

"A pointy eared prince-ling of an elf I might have expected as much." A gruff voice said interrupting their conversation. They turned to see the red haired dwarf Gimli standing in a doorway.

"Do you have a problem with princes?" Legolas said stiffly.

"Only when they throw around their titles like a fool to get a woman's attention."

"Sir, I…"Elenna began as she struggled to hide a smile.

"Call me Gimli, lass."

"Gimli…" she said warmly. "I was the one who asked about his parentage. There is no need to show off to one another. We are all part of the same fellowship."

"Mmmmm…" Gimli growled as they both looked at each other with scorn. Elenna laughed, startling them both.

"Perhaps I should escort you to your room." Legolas said after she was finished.

"No laddie I think I should escort the lass." Gimli retorted stepping between them. They faced off in the middle of the hallway, the tension rising between them until you could almost cut it with a knife.

"Or the two of you will remember that I am a warrior and can escort myself." She called from the opposite end of the hall breaking the hostility. She smiled and waved to them before walking away towards her room.

"I have never met a human woman like her before." Gimli said finally a look of pensiveness on his face.

"Because you've met so many human women, dwarf." Legolas said as they exchanged one more look of derision before parting ways.


	2. Chapter 2

_Loth Lorien_

Elenna stared out the window of the healing room blankly. They had managed to save her leg and said she would be up and moving soon. But she had retreated into herself, refusing to speak to anyone, even Aragorn about what had happened. Members of the fellowship had come and gone from her room but it was Legolas and Gimli who were her constant companions. Legolas would tell her stories to fill the silence and try to get her to laugh. Gimli, however, sat in silence waiting for her to speak. She had promised to tell him what she knew of Moria and she knew, of all the members of the fellowship, he blamed her for Gandalf's demise.

"Alright lassie." Gimli gruffly said interrupting Legolas. "You've had your time, now talk."

Legolas went silent as they watched Elen. She turned to look at the dwarf with a sadness and pain in her silver eyes they had never seen before. She took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I was approached by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel to be an advisor to your cousin Balin when it was made known he was going to try to retake Moria. He was hesitant at first but after I had proven my skills in battle he took my council gratefully. I helped establish the colony and from day one it was magnificent. They began mining operations almost immediately, creating and forging the most beautiful pieces…" She stopped to breathe before going on.

"Eventually they needed to find more places to mine, so I began researching, pouring over old texts for mentions of mithiril deposits. Well I found them." She paused again, bowing her head as look of intense agony washed over her face.

"Galadriel had told me…she _told me_ to contact her if they went looking for more places to mine. But in my arrogance, in my pride at helping and being a _leader_ , I didn't. I told them where to mine. Despite the warnings in my research, despite everything…And then Balin was killed in an ambush by goblins." She looked up at Gimli, eyes shining with tears. "I held him as he died, his last words to me were 'Get out…get out, you foolish lass while you can.' But like an ass I stayed…I didn't know…I thought it was only goblins. But then…" Her eyes focused on a point behind Gimil in fear as she remembered. "The fire came, the drums, the darkness…the remaining dwarves got me out and told me to seal the mountain behind me…" She finished her voice trailing off as tears washed down her face.

"None of that was your fault though, the arrogance yes, but you could not have done anything about the…" Legolas began.

"No! You don't understand! They stopped mining because of the shadows! The dwarves knew something was there! Balin knew!" Elen said her voice rising to a shout. "And I WOKE IT UP! I WENT DOWN THERE AND WOKE IT UP! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT! GANDALF DIED BECAUSE OF ME!"

Elenna broke down into heaving sobs as Legolas tried to comfort her. Finally Gimli moved over to her side and lifted her head from her lap. He didn't say a word but simply drew her into his arms and held her as she cried onto his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Gimli." She gasped out between sobs as he held her tighter.

"What's past is past lassie. You cannae change what happened. And I bet my ax that Gandalf knew what he was walking into. It's like the Lady Galadriel said, 'Needless were none of the Gandalf actions.' Now, elf, let's get the poor lass to the others to help her grieve."


	3. Chapter 3

_Battle before Helms Deep_

"A scout!" Legolas shouted as Aragorn and Elenna shared a look before mounting their horses. Théoden shouted to Éowyn to keep the people moving towards Helms Deep. Elenna turned her attention to the battle before her as Wargs poured from the hills and began to cut through their lines. Elenna charged forward, her brother by her side and began to fight. As she relieved orcs of their heads right and left she saw Gimli fall from behind Legolas and tried to get to him. Her progress was halted by the appearance of two wargs. One knocked her down pinning her while the other killed her mount and then turned to her.

She struggled to move to no avail when suddenly four arrows took out the wargs and their riders. She looked up to see Legolas riding towards her as fast as he could. She ran up to meet him but was suddenly picked up by a orc. After a brief scuffle she managed to get his dagger shoved into his skull and her sword planted firmly into the wargs heart. As she was flung to a halt she looked over to see Gimli struggling to lift two orcs and two wargs from his chest.

"Gimli!" She cried rushing over to help him. Together they managed to get the foul creatures off him and stood to look around. The wargs were fleeing from the battle ground and the soldiers were rounding up the runaway horses. Legolas smiled as he met up with Elenna and Gimli.

"Where is Aragorn?" He asked suddenly looking around.

"He was just…Aragorn!" Elenna shouted as she realized she couldn't find her brother.

"Aragorn!" Gimli shouted as well.

"He's dead…" A horrible voice said with a wet laugh.

"Tell me everything and I might ease your passing." Gimli growled out as they gathered around a dying orc.

"Took a little tumble off the cliff." It said as Elenna watched with wide eyes.

"You lie!" Legolas said grabbing it by the straps on its chest. It died laughing.

"Look…" Elenna said crouching next to the body. In its grasp was the Evenstar Aragorn wore around his neck at all times. She pried it from the orcs fingers with shaking hands. They all went to the cliff and looked over the edge to see a deep ravine with a rushing river at the bottom. Théoden walked over to them to look as well.

"Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return…Leave the dead." He said as Legolas turned to look at him. "Come."

Théoden left as Legolas turned to look at Elenna. She was still desperately looking into the river. He placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her to look at him.

"Come, melethril." He said with eyes as sad as she felt. "You too, melethron. Let's go."

"I'll come if you'd stop calling me whatever it is in that elvish of yours." Gimli grumbled as he moved with them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Tally Up_

"Stay out of the forest! Keep away from the trees!" Elenna shouted riding in front of the lines of soldiers. The orcs all fled into the foliage as the army of Rohan stopped short to watch. After the last orc ran inside all was quiet for a moment…and then the screaming began. Elenna saw Legolas watching in awe and fear as they all heard the trees ripping the orcs apart. The soldiers all headed back to Helms Deep, where they were greeted by their women and children. Elenna watched fondly as Aragorn accepted a hug from a relieved Éowyn with a small worried smile. She made her way through the piles of Uruk Hai, Elven, and human bodies until she finally hears who she is looking for.

"Final count, forty-two." Legolas said looking proud as he stroked his Lorien bow confidently. Gimli, sitting on the body of an Uruk, nodded as he smoked his pipe with a smile.

"Forty-two? That's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on forty-three." He said with a chuckle. Legolas grabbed an arrow from his back and fired it between Gimli's legs.

"Legolas!" Elenna cried out rushing over quickly.

"Forty-three." He said with a mischievous smile as Elenna looked at him in disbelief.

"He was already dead." Gimli said incredulously.

"He was twitching!"

"He was twitching 'cause he's got mah ax, EMBEDDED IN HIS NERVOUS SYSTEM!" The dwarf yelled out as he yanked his ax back and forth causing the body to move violently. Elenna couldn't help herself as she started laughing loudly. She laughed so hard that she had to clutch onto Legolas to keep from falling over.

"Well it's true!" Gimli said when she finally was able to catch her breath.

"Oh my boys…it's quite irrelevant how many orcs you slew today." She said wiping tears away as she giggled to herself.

"And why is that, melethril?" Legolas asked looking almost shocked at her outburst of laughter.

"Because my final tally was fifty-two!" She said before kissing them both on the cheek and bouncing off to find her brother.


	5. Chapter 5

_Party in Edoras_

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" Théoden said hosting his cup into the air in a toast. They had all come back from Isenguard after finding Merry and Pippin with the Ents and watching the final demise of Saruman.

"Hail!" The crowd shouted back as they all drank deeply from their mugs. The party went into full swing as the men broke out the kegs of ale and wine. Women brought out food and a few people began playing instruments.

"No pauses. No spills." Éomer said as he handed Legolas and Gimli each a mug of ale.

"And no regurgitation." Gimli said rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"So it's a drinking game?" The elf asked looking a bit confused.

"Aye!" said several of the men who had gathered to watch.

"Last one standing wins!" Gimli said as he began gulping his drink down. Legolas began looking a little bit unsure.

Elenna watched her brother accept a cup from Éowyn before nodding and moving away to walk past where she was seated.

"You should not give her hope where there is none, brother." She said in elvish as he passed.

"And you should have more courtesy for our hosts." He said turning to look at her. She smirked as she stood and stretched.

"Perhaps but they were words intended only for you." She replied as she placed her arms around him and gave him a hug. "I am glad you are still alive."

"And I, you." He replied hugging her back.

"Who are these from?" Aragorn asked with a smile as his hand flitted over the ornate braids in her hair.

Elenna looked down shyly.

"Legolas?" He asked as she nodded.

"And Gimli. We're wearing the same braids." She said as she smiled.

"They are both fine and honorable people." He said his face changing as he looked over her shoulder. "Although I have been known to be wrong."

Elenna found his line of sight and cast her eyes to the heavens.

"May the Valar give me strength." She said walking toward her lovers.

Legolas was working his way steadily through the ale as Gimli finished another mug. They both had a large pile of cups around them as Elenna walked up.

"It's dwarves that go swimming…with little hairy women!" Gimli said with a laugh as he burped and farted.

"What is going on here?" Elenna asked looking a little bewildered but amused.

"I feel something…a slight tingling in my fingers." Legolas said as he looked at his hand. "I think it's affecting me."

"What did I say? He can't hold his liquor!" Gimli said drunkenly as he looked up at Elenna his face changing to one of awe.

"Gimli?" Elenna asked after a moment.

"Oh my…you're lovely." He said before going cross-eyed and passing out.

"Game over." Legolas said as Elenna shook her head and sighed.

"It wasn't fair."She said as he walked over to her.

"Of course it was." He said amicably.

"You can't get drunk off human ale."

"Of course I can!"

"Melethron, you are a son of Thranduil, if you were able to still get drunk at all I would be surprised."


	6. Chapter 6

_Battle for Middle-Earth_

Elenna watched as her brother rode his horse giving words of courage to his small army. As the men around her drew their weapons she smiled knowing that these men would follow her brother to death. That these men would name him their king…if they survived.

"Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf and a woman." Gimli grumbled. Elenna reached out a hand to place on his shoulder.

"How about side by side with a friend?" Legolas said smiling down at him.

"Aye…I could do that."

Elenna quickly bent to place a kiss on Gimli's mouth then did the same to Legolas. They watched as Aragorn stepped forward towards the Black Gate. She lifted her chin as he looked back to her.

"For Frodo." He said before rushing to meet the oncoming army.

"Frodo!" Elenna screamed as she ran forward. She lost Legolas and then Gimli in the confusion of the battle. It was the most intense she had ever been in. Kicking and killing orcs left, right, up, and down. She moved quickly and efficiently, finishing one fight only to be in the middle of another.

Then she saw it, a huge troll with thick armor and a huge sword, heading straight for her brother. Time seemed to slow down as she ran forward, darting between orcs to get to his side. She saw Legolas trying to get to him but was stuck between two orcs. She met his eyes for a fraction of a second and in that moment she could see he knew. She sensed his horrified scream ripping through her body as she raised her sword between her brother and the troll.

"Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim." (I gave hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself).She spat out as she met steel with steel. She managed to get in a few blows before being suddenly swept away by a huge kick from the troll.

"Elenna! Elenna!" Legolas screamed as he fought even harder to get near her horrifyingly still body. Gimli appeared seemingly out of nowhere to crouch over her, protecting her body from being trampled to death by the hordes of fighters. Legolas fought his way over to her and between them both managed to drag her off into a quiet corner.

"Lassie? Lassie!" Gimli said trying to wake her as she laid in his lap.

"Melethril, please…please open your eyes." Legolas whispered as Gimli's hand found his. Elenna's eyes opened and she began to weakly cough and breath, her breathe hitching every time she inhaled.

"Gimli?" She said as the dwarf let out a shaky breath and placed a hand on her side.

"Lassie don't scare…" His words trailed off as she bit back a scream of pain. Legolas carefully lifted a piece of her shirt, his face falling as he saw the mess of bruises and angry red welts. He turned to Gimli and shook his head.

"Lass…" He began and was suddenly interrupted by the explosion of Mount Doom. They watched as the mountain exploded and the black gate fell.

"I'm glad…" Elenna said causing Gimli and Legolas to turn back to her.

"Of what?" Legolas asked softly as tears flowed down his and Gimli's face.

"That I was here…at the end of all things…and that I was loved so well." She said before going limp in their arms. Aragorn found them there later, holding her and mourning for their lost love.


End file.
